


A Chance Meeting

by Merfilly



Category: Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Genre: Artistic Liberties, Because of Reasons, DAM Exchange, Female-Centric, Gen, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, mention of war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 07:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26349154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Nani's just taking some "my-time" when she encounters a little old mainland woman. It's a passing conversation, but it will last.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31
Collections: 2020 Disney Animated Movie Exchange (DAM Exchange)





	A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arithanas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithanas/gifts).



> Arithanas, I do hope and pray this fic finds a smile with you. None of your requests mentioned crossovers, but the idea bit, and I had to try and write it.

The beach was all but deserted when Nani arrived, but there was a single blanket and umbrella propped up to one side. Nani looked over, face scrunching up to see an elderly _haole_ woman in a sun-dress and hat. The woman looked ancient, but she was upright and watching out over the sea.

Nani shrugged it off and took her board out, paddling as far as she needed to, her thoughts clearing of all the little things. Mom would fuss later about her escaping out of the house before breakfast, but she needed the clear morning, the waves, and the air.

Later was for chores; now was her time.

If she could just win maybe one more island competition, she'd land something that paid her to surf, get closer to going all the way to a real championship.

The feeling of the air and the color of the water shifted, making Nani mutter a bit. She headed back in, though, not dumb enough to ignore the change of weather.

The first drops kissed her skin as she waded ashore, to see the elderly woman had managed to take down the umbrella and pack away her blanket… but the hotels and the parking lots were some distance, and no one was there to help the woman. Nani veered that way, telling herself it could be her good deed for the week.

"Need a hand?"

"I won't say no," the woman said, her voice so mainland it was almost painful. She turned, saw that Nani had the board, and held out the bag, not the umbrella. "Let me just cinch my hat down," she added, reaching up with her now free hand to do that, making the little knot slide up the hat ties to hold the hat firmly in place.

"I could handle the umbrella," Nani said, skeptical and certain they'd get drenched in the time it took to get to shelter.

For herself, it wasn't an issue, but the woman looked like she was ninety-nine and made of tissue paper.

"No doubt, but so can I, young miss," the woman said. "Widow Tweed, that's what they all call me. Sent me here to have one last fling, I think. See a place as different from my gardens and woods as can be. Sweet gift, and the ocean's pretty, but I miss my animal friends and my plants."

Despite herself, Nani was impressed when the woman took a brisk pace, the folded umbrella caught in a secure grip. They moved swiftly to the stand to return the umbrella, and when the Widow got her deposit back, she turned immediately to Nani, offering it.

"I can't; it was the right thing to do," Nani said, handing back the bag.

"Miss. I have only grandchildren, none of whom wished to come on this dream vacation they insisted I take. I'm not going to be taking the money anywhere worthwhile, especially at my age. Please."

Reluctantly, Nani accepted the deposit money, and then looked out from under the stand's cover as the storm made shore, a wall of water coming down. The 'no-loitering' sign caught her eye, making her nose wrinkle at the idea of standing around being a crime.

"How far to where you are staying?" she asked, worried a little even if the woman wasn't as frail as she looked.

Widow Tweed looked out and pointed. "That one, the one with the mini-golf attached."

"This should pass soon; mind if I keep you company?"

The sign glared balefully, but the stand clerk was a local, not chasing them off when the rain was pouring like this.

"I would never tell a person to run off in a rain like this." The woman did take a moment to lean back on the wall of the little stand, easing her feet in the beach shoes. "What's your name, young miss?"

"Nani Pelekai."

"Nani," the woman repeated. "You're local, and you seem to know what that board is for. I'd never seen surfing until this trip, but a nice young man was telling me the points of it. Seemed you were doing fine."

Nani half-wondered if it had been David or one of the other locals. She hoped so. She didn't much trust that band of Mainlanders with … Brodie? She thought that was his name.

"Thank you." She let her curiosity run, since the storm had another few minutes. "Your grandchildren sent you this way all on your own? I mean, well…" She rubbed the back of her head as she heard how those words sounded.

Widow Tweed laughed. "A bit of an adventure for a woman as old as me? They did ask me to choose somewhere more sensible, like Malibu or the Keys. But, I wanted to see the place where I became a widow, to be honest. My husband had loved being stationed here, wrote of it so glowingly in his letters back before it happened.

"The grandchildren had insisted that I go somewhere I'd never been for this gift, and so I chose here."

So the ninety-nine might have been a little high, but she was into her eighties at the least, Nani decided about the widow.

"I don't know that I could make that choice," Nani said. "To go where I lost someone I loved, that is."

Widow Tweed just smiled softly. "Family is about love, it's about hard work, and it's about never letting go of the ones who matter in your heart. They might have to move on, or they might leave you behind, but your heart is where they live forever.

"Coming here was as much to make the grandchildren hush while they plan for my final years," Widow Tweed began, "as it was for me to see the islands he came to love in his short time here."

The rain was easing up, and the elderly woman shifted her bag to ready for the walk to her hotel.

"Ms. Tweed?"

"Yes, Nani?"

"I hope, when I am your age, I am as much at peace with life as you are," Nani said.

Widow Tweed reached out with her free hand and patted Nani's hand. "Love, life, and family are all work, but you can find the rhythm, just as you were doing out there with the waves and the board. Let that guide you."

As suddenly as the rain had begun, it left them, and they parted ways. Nani decided that some mainland people could be interesting, and hurried home to see what help her parents needed, or to occupy Lilo while they did things. Time with family was precious, and the old lady's words pushed that home this day.

**Author's Note:**

> Can't be a widow without being married. Going on the idea Tweed was about 60 when Tod was in her life, and this is about 20-odd years later (the two movies were 1981 and 2002). This is when Nani was still competing (per her trophies) and while Lilo is quite young.


End file.
